The story of the black silk female knight

Despite many twists and turns, Himiko successfully achieved her goal of convening the summit.

. . . . .

A few days later, the important figures from all over Frenoia left Jade Island, but Valensa remained.

The general meeting is over; now it's time for smaller meetings.

The crucial meeting that will truly determine the course of fate.

There were only four women participating... or rather, three women plus a puppet.

Valensa, Tia, Himiko, and the doll girl Yi Qiuya, and even the Chiba sisters were not present. Valensa personally poured the tea for them.

There was no other way; the matter concerning the fate of the people was far too important. If Himiko hadn't already known and insisted on participating, and if Tia hadn't known now but would definitely find out later, Yi Qiuya would have only wanted to tell Valensa the relevant information.

"So, the summit concluded successfully, right?"

After gently licking the sweet tea, making the doll-like girl, who couldn't drink it, stare longingly, Himika asked Yi Qiuyue with a grin:

"So? Fate hasn't led to a doomed path, has it?"

"……Um."

Yi Qiuyue glared at Himiko with a pout, muttered a couple of words about the demonic sect's witch, but still nodded seriously:

"You've done a good job. Everything is going smoothly so far. We have successfully passed the first stage and embarked on that only path of hope."

"Can this be considered as everything going smoothly?"

Valensa quickly swallowed the two pastries in her mouth, a wry smile on her face:

"One of the continent's top powerhouses, the Great Sage, is dead; the Sage Tower has suffered heavy losses; and nearly one-fifth of the Sages have defected with a large amount of technical data... Can this be considered a success?"

"...Although what I'm saying may sound a bit harsh, it is indeed a successful performance."

Yi Qiuyue paused for a moment, then sighed and explained:

"Think about it, if even the Great Sage hadn't died, would the others have been so aware of the threat? Would the summit have gone so smoothly? Putting aside everything else, just the establishment of the coalition alone would have caused those nobles and merchants to argue for a long time about all the resources and manpower required."

But now? Those merchants and nobles are all giving their all, fully supporting the formation of the allied forces, fearing that the Central Plains Empire will turn them all into slaves or corpses if they attack… If the Sage's Tower hadn't suffered such heavy losses this time, would they be so terrified?

"That... seems to be true."

Valensa nodded, secretly touched Tia's leg under the table, and then, after Tia glared at her, casually continued to ask Yi Qiuya:

"What about the sages who defected? They took a lot of important data to the Central Continent Empire, which should be considered a huge loss, right? Although the morality of the Sage Tower has been purified, will those lost research data have any impact on the future war situation?"

"Of course there will be an impact."

Yi Qiuya shrugged:

"In order to establish themselves in the Central Continent Empire as soon as possible, those traitors will develop several powerful new weapons for the Central Continent Empire, which will make you suffer a lot in the future war... Don't worry."

Seeing that Valensa's expression suddenly became anxious, Yi Qiuya waved her hand again:

"Everything has its advantages and disadvantages... Have you forgotten why those sages rebelled? They craved research that was free from supervision and moral constraints, and the Central Empire satisfied them."

Therefore, those weapons are actually double-edged swords that can hurt the enemy a thousand while also hurting themselves five thousand... On the battlefield, those weapons can indeed make the Western Continent Allied Forces suffer some hardships, but the research and development process of those weapons will cause even greater harm to the Central Continent Empire itself, and may even greatly shake the Dragon Emperor's prestige among the people.

This is why I couldn't tell you about the attack on the Sage's Tower too early. If you went to rescue them too soon, the sages might not be able to successfully defect, let alone wreak havoc on the Central Continent Empire after their defection.

Simply put, it's a disaster wherever it goes... What the Central Continent Empire stole from the Sage's Tower this time wasn't some valuable talent, but a deadly poison!

Yi Qiuya spoke with obvious schadenfreude, and Tia and Himiko also had faint smiles on their faces, mocking the Central Continent Empire for shooting itself in the foot.

Only Valensa's expression remained somewhat sorrowful:

"But wouldn't that mean many innocent people on the Eastern Continent would suffer? Isn't there a better way?"

"...If you were as powerful as your sister, you could have wiped out the Dragon Emperor and all his confidants in the palace, and this could have been avoided. But you don't have that power, do you?"

Yi Qiuyue rolled her eyes at Valensa, somewhat annoyed, and jumped onto Valensa's shoulder, kicking Valensa's face with her little foot.

"Since you don't have the power of a god, then don't even think about a perfect ending! Before worrying about the people of the enemy country, you should be thinking about how to help your own people win the war and survive... Seriously, aren't you half an evil god? Why are you being so saintly?"

"Because... never mind."

Seeing that Tia and Himiko were also looking at her with some curiosity, Valensa hesitated for a moment and then skipped the topic.

If she were truly just Valensa, the Holy Knight of the Evil Gods, born and raised in this world, she probably wouldn't feel anything about the impending doom for the people of the Central Continent Empire, who are all enemies coming to conquer and destroy her homeland and friends.

But she still has memories of her past life, and has a subtle feeling for the ancient civilization of the Eastern Continent, which is very similar to the country she lived in.

However, this is not her hometown in her previous life, nor is it even a parallel world to her hometown.

This Earth is the divine kingdom where the Sun Goddess resides; life there must be incredibly wonderful... That's enough.

As for the humans of Eve, they were merely beings resurrected by the Sun Goddess after the cosmic catastrophe, modeled after Earth's civilization.

Therefore, there is no need to place your longing for your hometown in your previous life on the Central Continent Empire... They are just a group of enemies who look like fellow countrymen but are extremely cunning and brutal!

Xiaoya is right. I don't have the power of a true god, so I shouldn't fantasize about a perfect ending. It's enough to protect my family, friends, and home!

Being too much of a saint will not end well!

Valensa's mind was racing, and a determination gradually appeared in her eyes. At the same time, without realizing it, under the amused gazes of Himiko and Yi Qiuya, she grabbed Tia's white-stockinged little foot in her hand, holding it tightly like a treasure, and even rubbing it against her face.

"...You're going to die! You idiot!"

Although the two of them have tried almost every trick in the book in private, rubbing their feet against each other's faces like this can hardly be called flirting, but it is still quite embarrassing in front of outsiders.

Tia quickly pulled her foot back, and at the same time pinched Valensa hard:

"I don't know what you were thinking this time, but it's good that you figured it out yourself... We're discussing serious matters now! No frivolous talk allowed!"

"Um...sorry, I was a little lost in thought and that's why I got distracted."

Valensa quickly begged for mercy, then swiftly turned her gaze to the doll-like girl, Yi Qiuya, forcibly changing the subject as if to escape:

"Now that we've successfully completed the summit, shouldn't we move on to the next important milestone? How many more such milestones are there?"

"...Hmph, as expected, a shameless lewd knight."

Yi Qiuya first gave Valensa a disdainful look before answering the question:

"Father saw three important event nodes... If all three nodes go smoothly, you will completely kill the Dragon Emperor in the last event node, allowing this world to completely escape the crisis of destruction."

So, the final event is the decisive battle?

Valensa nodded, then asked:

"What about the second event point? Can you tell me now, or will you have to wait until some other time to tell me?"

"That's something we can talk about now."

Yi Qiuya shrugged, but under the tense and serious gazes of Valensa, Tia, and Himiko, she didn't give a direct answer. Instead, she sighed again:

"Although I really don't want to discourage you, if things continue as they are, you will not be able to defeat the Central Continent Empire in four years... You will all be defeated."

"……Why?"

Tia gritted her teeth in resentment:

"Is the gap in strength really that big? Even if we unite as one, even if we leverage the power of technology and industrialization, and even if we can use nuclear weapons on a large scale... we still can't win?"

"Can't win."

Yi Qiuyue's words left no room for mercy:

"The Allied Forces will indeed become the most powerful army on the Frenoia continent, and your new tactics and weapons will shine on the battlefield... But the Allied Forces have been formed for too short a time and cannot compare with the resources that the Central Continent Empire has accumulated over hundreds of years."

If the war is short, it's fine, but if it drags on for too long... First of all, your allied forces will have all sorts of problems. After all, the Central Continent Empire not only has strong military strength on the front, but it is also very good at using schemes to divide the opponent from within.

Of course, the most important reason is that the Central Continent Empire has no internal troubles... There are indeed resistance forces on the Eastern Continent, but they are not a significant force and are not enough to pose a threat.

And what about you in the Western Continent? Don't forget who you've been fighting for thousands of years... If those enemies launch a fierce attack on your rear while the Allied Forces are fighting the Central Continent Empire, are you really confident you can fight on two fronts when the enemy is stronger than you?"

"...The three major natural disasters?"

Valensa, Tia, and Himiko exchanged glances, all understanding Yi Qiuya's meaning.

Indeed, with the current strength of Fran, America, and the Four Islands Alliance, they are no longer so afraid of the three great calamities, and rarely suffer heavy losses from them as they did in the early days.

But what if the three great calamities erupt simultaneously during the Central Continent Empire's invasion?

At that time, the grain in northern France will be plundered by wild beasts, the various ores produced in eastern America will be unable to be transported out due to the calamity of the Netherworld Demons, and the Four Islands Alliance will be constantly attacked by the Fog Demons and even cut off from communication...

Then the front line is bound to be defeated, and then everyone will perish together, right?

"Understand?"

Yi Qiuyue leaped off Valensa's shoulder and landed on the table between the three of them, hands on her hips, head held high with an air of smugness.

"As the art of war says, 'To repel external aggression, one must first secure internal stability!' Before resisting the invasion of the Central Plains Empire, you must first completely eliminate the threat of the three great natural disasters!"

"This……"

Tia, whose family had dealt with wild beasts for many years, was the first to show reluctance:

"Completely eliminate the threat of the three major natural disasters? That's no different from assassinating the Dragon Emperor in the Central Continent Empire's palace, isn't it?"

The wild beasts are easy to deal with. They were already stunned by Valencia's combination of attacks, and a large number of their main forces were eaten by the evil god. They are now severely crippled... Once the new human acorns mature and we complete our secret weapon, wiping them out will indeed be simple.

But the Netherworld Ghost and the Mist Demon... we haven't even fully figured out what they are, so how can we talk about completely solving them?

The last family to try and completely eliminate the Mist Demon threat was the Tsuchimikado family… but you probably already know what happened to them, right?

"Well……"

Yi Qiuyue puffed out her cheeks:

“But in the line of fate that my father saw, you did indeed completely resolve the three major natural disasters! Moreover, not only did you suffer no losses, but you also gained a great deal... and even obtained an ace that could turn the tide of the war!”

"...How come I didn't know we were this capable?"

Tia muttered a resentful remark, then said helplessly:

"It's no use just telling us the general outcome of this kind of thing. You need to give us at least some hints about how to do it."

"This one……"

Yi Qiuya's doll had a very conflicted expression on its face.

With her hands behind her back, her small white-socked feet beneath her Hanfu-style gauze skirt shimmering, she paced back and forth along the edge of the table several times. After closing her eyes and pondering for a while, she finally made her decision:

"Actually, the safest approach is for you to figure things out yourselves without giving me hints... but that would make you very unhappy and you'd try all sorts of ways to bully me... so I can only give you a tiny hint, just a tiny one~~"

"Even a little bit is fine, go ahead and say it."

Himika seemed quite impatient.

She was indeed an old enemy of the Central Continent Empire, but she also hated the Mist Demon just as much... In the past 700 years, she had been tormented by the Mist Demon, and even had to personally kill her most reliable subordinates.

"Umm."

Yi Qiuyue rested her chin on her hand and pondered for a few more seconds before looking at Valensa and saying:

"I can't go into the specific details, for reasons you understand... I can only vaguely tell you the final fate of the three major natural disasters; you'll have to deduce the process and methods yourself."

The ultimate fate of the three natural disasters is this: one will be completely eradicated, the secret of another will be fully revealed, and the third will become your strength.

"Huh?" x3

This answer was quite unexpected, leaving Valensa and the others looking at each other in bewilderment.

He seemed to be deep in thought.

The natural disasters that were completely wiped out were undoubtedly wild beasts.

Valensa had planned to make her move after the acorn harvest this spring. Even without the threat from the Central Empire, the wild beasts would never see autumn this year.

But the other two, the Netherworld Ghost and the Mist Demon... whose secrets will be fully revealed, and whose will be subdued and turned into one's own power?

Chapter 20 Speculations about Natural Disasters

It should be that the secret of the Mist Demon has been revealed, and the Netherworld Ghost has become his power, right?

After a moment's thought, this is what Valensa thought.

These are all speculations based on clues.

Let's start with the underworld ghosts.

About two years ago, when Valensa and Tia accompanied Princess Merlin to America, they hired a local ace hunter as a guide to hunt ghouls in order to collect the spinal cord of the ghouls to create Frostmourne for Princess Merlin.

At the end of that hunt, they encountered a strange being on the ice field—a two-dimensional girl in military uniform who only existed in the reflection of the ice. Her abilities were bizarre and invincible, and they were chased and beaten until they could only escape from the ice field.

When this was later told to the original Great Witch, Friggia, the Great Witch was very shocked, saying that she knew the two-dimensional girl in military uniform reflected in the ice.